Sewing-machine.



H. B. LA PLANT.-

SEWING MAGHINE.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 13, mos.

Patented Mar. 23, 1909.

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Patented Mar. 23, 1909.

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H. B. LA PLANT. SEWING MACHINE.

APILI OATION IILED 93.13, 1908.

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HARRY E. LA PLANT, OF KENNET, CALIFORNIA.

SEWING-MACHINE Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented March 23, 1909.

Application filed April 13, 1908. Serial No. 426,924.

a side View of the machine; Fig. 2 is a top plan view'of the same Fig. 3is a horizontal section through the upper arm; Fig. 4 is a horizontalsection through the lower arm; Fig. 5 is an enlarged broken longitudinalver tical section; Fig. 6 is a transverse vertical section; Fig. 7 is ahorizontal section through the collar; Fig. 8 is a similar view throughthe dog Fig. 9 is a side view of a modifiedform of the invention; Fig.10 is an enlarged detail sectional view of the same.

Referring to the drawing, the frame of the machine comprises ayoke-shaped casting 1 having up er and lower hollow arms 2, 3,

and a bac 4. In the upper arm reciprocates a slide bar 5, which isconnected at the rear end to a vertical hand piece 6, bet een which handpiece and the back of the frame is interposed an ogee spring 7, securedat its lower end to the back of the frame, its upper forked end 8 beingfree, and bearing against the inner vertical surface of the hand piece,and slidable upon said surface, when said hand piece is moved to andfrom the frame. T o the front end of said slide bar is attached a plate9, which slides through a guideway in the up er arm 2, and also slidesthrough a vertica slot 10 formed in a vertical needle carrier 11. Saidplate is formed with a slot 12, inclined or oblique for the greater partof its length, through which passes a pin 13, extending transverselythrough the needle carrier, and joining the two sides of the latter.Upon the u er arm of said frame is secured a spool ho cler 14, uponwhich can be placed a spool the thread 15 from said spool passingthrough a tension device 16, then through a fixed eye 17 and thenthrough an eye 18 on the top or free end of a spring 19, the latterbeing secured at its lower end to the needle carrier and reciprocatingtherewith. As the needle carrier descends, said spring is pressed inwardby the side of the bearing for the needle carrier, and as the needlecarrier returns, said eye 18, moving outward owing to the springemerging from said bearing, takes up the slack of the thread. Afterpassing through the eye 18, the thread then passes down through themiddle of the needle carrier, and through the eye of the needle 20. Byreason of the above construction, upon each forward movement of the handpiece, the needle is depressed, carrying the thread through the cloth.

From the lower end of the hand piece depend two flat springs 21, which,in the forward movement of the hand piece, slide close to, or in contactwith the sides of a slide bar 22, reciprocating in the lower arm 3, saidsprings moving freely along said slide bar until their front edges engae shoulders 23 formed upon said slide bar, w liereupon in the continuedadvance of the hand piece from that point, said lower slide bar is movedinward with said springs and hand piece. Said lower slide bar is offsetat its forward end and is formed into a rack 24 engaging a gear wheel25, which in turn engages a gear wheel 26 which carries an oscillatingshuttle 27. This shuttle is of the same character as that used in theSinger sewing machine, and need not be herein further specified. In thecontinued inward movement of the hand piece, the two flat 5 )rings 21engage opposite sides of a rearward y directed wedge 28 secured to thebottom of said back, so that, in said continued movement, said springsare spread apart, and consequently no longer engage said shoulders 23,whereupon the lower slide bar 22 is free to return, which it immediatelydoes, by the action of a spring 29, contained in a recess in the back 4,the upper end of which spring is secured to said back, and the lower endpasses through said lower slide bar. From this it results that the lowerslide bar immediately returns the instant that the hand piece hastraveled inward a distance which is constant for every movement of thehand piece, thereby producing a reciprocatory movement of the lowerslide bar, and correspondingly actuating the shuttle in the manneralready described. This movement of the shuttle is arranged to takeplace in such conformity with the reciprocating movement of the needlecarrier as to form the necessary stitching.

raises the collar 46 and therefore also the col- 30 indicates thepresser foot which is carried by a hanger 31, pivoted at 32 to a collar33 which surrounds the cylindrical guideway 34 for the needle carrier. Aspring 35 is interposed between said collar 33 and the bottom of theframe around the guideway 34 and said spring 35 acting upon said collarto depress the presser foot upon the material. Said collar can be movedaround the cylin drical guideway 34 to any desired angular position.Around the lower reduced end of the needle carrier is a collar 36retained in place by a nut 37 screwed on the lower end of the needlecarrier, and having a forked extension 38 which straddles the hanger 31,and in which extension is pivoted a (10 39 normally raised by a spring40, and arrested by a cross pin 41. In the first part of the descent ofthe needle carrier, the free end of said dog is adapted to engage a hump42 formed on the inner side of said han er, and thereby swings saidhanger on its pivot outward, or away from the needle, thereby causingthe presser foot, provided on its under surface with the usual teeth, tofeed the material into position for the next stitch, and before theneedle enters the material. In the continued descent of the needlecarrier, the hanger 31 swings outward to such an extent as to permit thedog 39 to pass said hump 42. Said collar 33 can rotate inside a secondcollar 46, which is secured to two rods 47 passing upward through theframe in suitable bearings on opposite sides of the slotted plate 9. Oneof these rods carries at the top a roller 48, and in said upper arm 2there is formed a recess in which is mounted an eccentric 49 en gaged bysaid roller 48 and adapted to be turned by a suitable handle 50. Bymeans of this handle, and the eccentric 49, the presser foot can beraised from off the cloth, whenever desired. The two rods are connectedby a pin 51, which works in slots 52 in the rods, and has a roller 53engaging a second slot 54 in the slotted plate 9, so that, ashereinafter described, at a suitable'tinie in the operation of themachine, after the stitch has been commenced, said slot operates throughsaid pin to raise said collar 46, and thereby raise the hanger andpresser foot.

The mode of operation is as follows :-As the needle descends, and beforeit enters the cloth, the dog 39 engages the hump 42 and swings thepresser foot so as to ad- Vance the cloth the distance of one stitch.The needle then descends into the cloth until the pin 13 arrives at thebottom of the inclined slot 12. Then by reason of the unwardly inclinedportion 56 of said slot, the needle slightly ascends. Immediatelyafterward the in 51 is also engaged by an upwardly inc ined portion ofthe slot 57, which lar 33 raising the presser foot from the cloth,

and, as it rises, said presser foot is swung into its former position bymeans of a spring 35, which presses against the upper end of the hanger,its movement being limited by a screw 58. By this means the presser footis returned to its normal position ready for the beginning of anotherstitch. flhe horizontal part 54 of the slot 57 engages the pin 51 duringthe time the pin 13 is moving in the oblique portion of the slot 12, andthe horizontal part 59 of the slot 12 engages the pin 13, while the pin51 is moving in the oblique portion of the slot 57. On the return movement the presser foot again drops so as to firmly engage the clothbefore the needle starts to rise from the cloth, so that the parts aresteadily held by the stitches being completed.

The invention can also be used as a foot power machine, there beingprovided, for this purpose, the usual treadle 64 connected by a pitman65 with a crank shaft 66 upon which is mounted a grooved wheel 67,connected by a band 68 with a grooved wheel 69 upon a shaft 70, on whichwheel is also formed a cam groove 71 in which are contained rollers 72,73, on the bent ends of bars 74, 75, which, in this form of theinvention, take the place of the bars 5 and 22, shown in the first formof the invention. It is evident that, by the motion of said treadle,said bars 7 4, 75, will be given reciprocatory movements in the samemanner as the bars 5 and 22.

I claim 1. In a sewing machine, the combination of a needle carrier, atransverse pin carried thereby, a vertical guideway for said needlecarrier, a plate reciprocated transversely to the needle carrier, saidplate having a guide way for said pin having a main longer portionoblique or inclined to the direction of reciprocation, a shorter portionoppositely inclined, and a terminal portion at right angles to saiddirection, and means for reciprocating said plate, substantially asdescribed.

2. In a sewing machine, the combination of a needle carrier, atransverse pin carried thereby, a vertical guideway for said needlecarrier, a presser foot, a support therefor, and a plate having slotstherein, one of said slots being operatively connected with said needlecarrier, and the other being operatively connected to said support, andmeans for reciprocating said plate, substantially as described.

3. In a sewing machine, the combination of a needle carrier, atransverse pin carried thereby, a vertical guideway for said needlecarrier, a presser foot, a support therefor, means for independentlyraising said support, and a plate having slots therein, one of saidslots being operatively connected with said needle carrier, and theother being operatively connected to said support, and means forreciprocating said plate, substantially as described.

4. In a sewing machine, the combination of a needle carrier, a verticalguideway therefor, a presser foot, a horizontal reciprocating late,having slots therein, one of said slots eing oblique in the forward oradvancing portion thereof and operatively connected with the needlecarrier, and the other slot being straight in the advancing portionthereof and oblique in the rear portion and operatively connected tosaid hanger support, substantially as described.

5. In a sewing machine, the combination of a frame, a needle carrierreciprocating vertically therein, a shuttle rotatable therein, up er andlower reciprocating bars, the upper ar being 0 eratively connected tothe needle carrier anr the lower bar being operatively connected to theshuttle, a reciprocating device rigidly connected to the upper bar andhaving an intermittent operative engagement with the lower bar toadvance the same, a spring for resisting the movement of saidreciprocating device, and a spring for returning said lower bar to itsnormal osition after being so operated, substantial y as described.

6. In a sewing machine, the combination of a frame, a needle carrierreciprocating vertically therein, a shuttle rotating therein, upper andlower reciprocating bars, the upper bar being operatively connected tothe needle carrier and the lower bar being operatively connected to theshuttle, a reciprocating device permanently connected to the upper bar,and having a pair of flat springs passing on each side of the lower bar,said lower bar having shoulders adapted to be engaged by said springs, aspring arranged to resist the movement of said lower bar due to theaction of said reciprocating device, and a wedge adapted to engage saidflat springs to release them from said shoulder, substantially asdescribed.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

HARRY E. LA PLANT,

W'itnesses:

F. M. WRIGHT, D. B. RICHARDS.

